Complex cap and culture container assembly using same

ABSTRACT

A complex cap includes a coupling element, a shielding element and at least one filtering element. The coupling element has a first coupling part to be coupled with a neck portion of a bottle body, a recess formed in the first coupling part, and a first opening is formed in a bottom of the recess. The first opening is communicated with the mouth portion of the bottle body when the first coupling part is coupled with the neck portion of the bottle body. The shielding element is used for at least partially sheltering the first opening of the coupling element and comprises a second coupling part to be tight-fitted into the recess of the coupling element. The filtering element is mounted in the recess of the coupling element and arranged between the coupling element and the shielding element for filtering off external contaminants and controlling gas-permeable amount.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a complex cap, and more particularly to a complex cap for use with a culture container assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plant tissue culture is a technique used to propagate plants under sterile conditions. Plant tissue culture is widely used in horticulture, agriculture, forestry, and so on. By the plant tissue culture, plants are propagated in sterile containers that allow them to be moved with greatly reduced chances of transmitting diseases, pests, and pathogens. Generally, the culture containers have great influences on the growth rates, the success or failure, and/or the healthy conditions of the plants. For providing environments suitable to propagate plants, the culture container should have some characteristics such as gas permeability, light transmittance, controllable relative humidity, anti-pollutant property and the like. Among these characteristics, gas permeability and relative humidity are two of the most factors that influence the morphology, quality and the survival rate of seedling.

During propagation of plants in the culture container, the culture container is often covered by a low gas-permeable article such as an aluminum foil paper or a rubber plug. In such circumstance, the relative humidity in the culture container is excessively increased and thus causes hindrance from growing the plants. For example, the growth hindrance includes for example the lack of waxy surface or malfunction of gas pores. In addition, the excess increase of the relative humidity causes accumulation of harmful gases such as ethylene gas or phenolic components, so that the physiology and the morphology of the seedling are both abnormal. Moreover, if the culture container is covered by the low gas-permeable article during the in vitro acclimatization, the excess increase of the relative humidity causes low acclimatization survival rate or extended acclimatization period. Therefore, the yield is reduced and fabricating cost is increased.

Usually, the culture container includes a bottle body and a sealing cap. An example of the sealing cap includes but is not limited to an aluminum foil paper, a rubber plug or a silicone plug. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional culture container. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional culture container 10 comprises a bottle body 11 and a sealing cap 12. The sealing cap 12 is an elastomeric component such as a rubber plug or a silicone plug. The sealing cap 12 is detachably plugged in the bottle mouth of the bottle body 11 for sealing the bottle mouth. The sealing cap 12 has a central gas-permeable hole 121. When the sealing cap 12 is plugged in the bottle mouth of the bottle body 11, gases are permissible to permeate into or out of the inner portion of the bottle body through the gas-permeable hole 121. For preventing external contaminants such as bacteria of spores from entering the inner portion of the bottle body, some cotton is inserted into the gas-permeable hole 121. For facilitating isolation from the external contaminants, the periphery of the bottle mouth and the top surface of the sealing cap 12 are often covered with a layer of aluminum foil paper 13 or a plastic cover (not shown).

Although the conventional culture container 10 has the advantage of cost-effectiveness, there are still some drawbacks. For example, if the sealing cap 12 needs to be replaced by a new one during different propagation stages of the plants, the replacing procedure needs to be implemented on a sterile operating platform in order to prevent from being contaminated. In addition, the sealing cap 12 and the aluminum foil paper 13 may obstruct the ambient light from entering the inner portion of the bottle body, which is detrimental to growth of plants. It is found that too small amount of cotton 122 fails to effectively obstruct external contaminants. Whereas, too large amount of cotton 122 results in poor gas permeability and thus high relative humidity. Under this circumstance, the gas permeability and the high relative humidity fail to be precisely adjusted according to the propagation stages of the plants.

Therefore, there is a need of providing a complex cap for use with a culture container assembly to obviate the drawbacks encountered from the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As previously described in the prior art, the procedure of replacing the sealing cap needs to be implemented on a sterile operating platform, the sealing cap may obstruct the ambient light, and it is difficult to adjust the gas permeability and the high relative humidity within the bottle body. For obviating the drawbacks encountered from the prior art, the present invention provides a complex cap for use with a culture container assembly.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a complex cap for use with a bottle body having a mouth portion and a neck portion. The complex cap includes a coupling element, a shielding element and at least one filtering element. The coupling element has a first coupling part to be coupled with the neck portion of the bottle body, a recess formed in the first coupling part, and a first opening is formed in a bottom of the recess. The first opening is communicated with the mouth portion of the bottle body when the first coupling part is coupled with the neck portion of the bottle body. The shielding element is used for at least partially sheltering the first opening of the coupling element and comprises a second coupling part to be tight-fitted into the recess of the coupling element. The filtering element is mounted in the recess of the coupling element and arranged between the coupling element and the shielding element for filtering off external contaminants and controlling gas-permeable amount.

The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional culture container;

FIG. 2A is a schematic exploded view of a culture container assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic front perspective view of the coupling element shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the coupling element shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D is a schematic front perspective view of the first shielding element shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2E is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the first shielding element in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2F is a schematic front perspective view of the second shielding element shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2G is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the second shielding element in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2H is an upside-down plan view of the second shielding element shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating that the coupling element is sheathed around the neck portion of the bottle body of the culture container assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating that the filtering element is mounted in the recess of the coupling element of the culture container assembly shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the first shielding element is mounted in the recess of the coupling element of the culture container assembly shown in FIG. 3B; and

FIG. 3D is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the second shielding element is mounted in the recess of the coupling element of the culture container assembly shown in FIG. 3B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.

FIG. 2A is a schematic exploded view of a culture container assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The culture container assembly 2 is applicable to propagate plants, microorganisms, fungus or plant tissues under sterile conditions. For example, the culture container assembly 2 is used for the in vitro culture of orchids. As shown in FIG. 2, the culture container assembly 2 principally comprises a complex cap 20 and a bottle body 21. The bottle body 21 comprises a neck portion 211 and a mouth portion 212. The mouth portion 212 is disposed above the neck portion 211. The inner portion of the bottle body 21 may be used to accommodate plant cultures, microorganisms, fungus or plant tissues therein. The complex cap 20 is used for at least partially sheltering the mouth portion 212 of the bottle body 21. In this embodiment, the complex cap 20 comprises a coupling element 201, at least one filtering element 202 and one or more shielding elements (e.g. two shielding elements 203 and 204). The coupling element 201 is coupled with the bottle body 21. The filtering element 202 is mounted in the coupling element 201 for filtering off external contaminants, controlling gas-permeable amount and adjusting relative humidity inside the bottle body 21.

FIG. 2B is a schematic front perspective view of the coupling element shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the coupling element shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the coupling element 201 has a first coupling part 2011 for tightly coupling with the neck portion 211 of the bottle body 21. The first coupling part 2011 has a recess 2012 and a first opening 2013. The recess 2012 is arranged in the center of the first coupling part 2011. The first opening 2013 is formed in the bottom of the recess 2012. When the coupling element 201 is coupled with the bottle body 21, the first opening 2013 is communicated with the mouth portion 212 of the bottle body 21 (as shown in FIG. 3B).

In this embodiment, the coupling element 201 further comprises a first extension part 2014. The first extension part 2014 is extended from the bottom of the first coupling part 2011 for facilitating tightly coupling with the neck portion 211 of the bottle body 21. In addition, the first coupling part 2011 has several ribs 2015, which are formed in the first opening 2013 and radially arranged with respect to the centerline of the first opening 2013. Furthermore, an engaging groove 2016 is formed in the sidewall of the recess 2012.

FIG. 2D is a schematic front perspective view of the first shielding element shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2E is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the first shielding element in FIG. 2A. The first shielding element 203 is used for at least partially sheltering the first opening 2013 of the coupling element 201. The first shielding element 203 has a second coupling part 2031. The second coupling part 2031 is a cylindrical sleeve having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201. Consequently, the second coupling part 2031 is tight-fitted into the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201 to fix the first shielding element 203 onto the coupling element 201.

In some embodiments, an engaging rib 2032 is formed on the outer periphery of the second coupling part 2031 of the first shielding element 203. When the second coupling part 2031 is inserted into the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201, the engaging rib 2032 is engaged with the engaging groove 2016 so as to avoid detachment of the second coupling part 2031 from the recess 2012 and facilitate securely fixing the first shielding element 203 onto the coupling element 201. Furthermore, the first shielding element 203 has a second extension part 2033. The second extension part 2033 is externally extended from the top edge of the second coupling part 2031. The diameter of the second extension part 2033 is greater than that of the coupling element 201, so that a portion of the second extension part 2033 is extended outside the coupling element 201 after the first shielding element 203 is fixed onto the coupling element 201. For replacing the first shielding element 203 with a new one, the user may exert a pulling force on the second extension part 2033 to withdraw the first shielding element 203 from the coupling element 201 without difficulty.

Furthermore, a second opening 2034 is formed in the center of the second coupling part 2031 of the first shielding element 203. Via the second opening 2034, the gases inside and outside the bottle body 21 are exchangeable. The second coupling part 2031 has several ribs 2035, which are formed in the second opening 2034, radially arranged with respect to the centerline of the second opening 2034 and connected to the inner surface of the second coupling part 2031.

FIG. 2F is a schematic front perspective view of the second shielding element shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2G is a schematic upside-down perspective view of the second shielding element in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2H is an upside-down plan view of the second shielding element shown in FIG. 2A. The second shielding element 204 comprises a second coupling part 2041, an engaging rib 2042, a second extension part 2043, one or more second openings 2044 and several ribs 2045. For example, the second shielding element 204 comprises one or two second openings 2044. The functions of the second coupling part 2041, the engaging rib 2042 and second extension part 2043 included in the second shielding element 204 of FIGS. 2F and 2G are similar to those shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E, and are not redundantly described herein. In addition, the second opening 2044 of the second shielding element 204 is distinguished from the second opening 2034 of the first shielding element 203 in the size. The second opening 2034 of the first shielding element 203 has a relatively larger size that allows for a relatively larger gas-exchangeable amount. The second opening 2044 of the second shielding element 204 is relatively smaller that allows for a relatively smaller gas-exchangeable amount. Due to the different gas-exchangeable amounts, the second shielding elements 203 and 204 may be used in different propagation stages of the plants so as to achieve proper gas-exchangeable amount and humidity for the culture container assembly. For example, for a purpose of pressure relief, the second opening 2044 of the second shielding element 204 may be used in the high-pressure sterilization stage for adjusting the gas-exchangeable amount of the culture container assembly 2. In some embodiments, the second coupling part 2041 has a third opening 2046 in the bottom of thereof. The second coupling part 2041 has several ribs 2035, which are formed in the third opening 2046, radially arranged with respect to the centerline of the third opening 2046 and connected to the inner surface of the second coupling part 2041.

Please refer to FIG. 2A again. The filtering element 202 is mounted in the coupling element 201 for filtering off external contaminants, controlling gas-permeable amount and adjusting relative humidity inside the bottle body 21. The filtering element 202 is mounted in the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201. When one of the first shielding element 203 and the second shielding element 204, the filtering element 202 is arranged between the coupling element 201 and the first shielding element 203 or the second shielding element 204 and sustained against the ribs 2015 of the coupling element 201 and the ribs 2035 of the first shielding element 203 or the ribs 2045 of the second shielding element 204. As a consequence, the filtering element 202 is clamped within the recess 2012 and between the ribs 2015 and the ribs 2035 or 2045.

In some embodiment, the coupling element 201 is made of elastomeric material such as rubber, and the first shielding element 203 and the second shielding element 204 are made of transparent or opaque hard material such as plastic material. The filtering element 202 may have a single-layered or multi-layered structure. In addition, the filtering element 202 has controllable gas permeability, high light transmittance, controllable water vapor permeability and anti-pollutant property, thereby filtering off external contaminants, controlling gas-permeable amount and adjusting relative humidity inside the bottle body 21. In some embodiment, two or more filtering elements 202 are mounted in the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201. It is preferred that the filtering elements 202 are made of non-woven fabric, paper, membrane, tiny gauze or a combination thereof.

Hereinafter, a process of assembling the culture container assembly 2 will be illustrated as follows with reference to FIG. 2A as well as FIGS. 3A˜3D. First of all, the first coupling part 2011 of the coupling element 201 is coupled with the neck portion 211 of the bottle body 21. At the same moment, the first extension part 2014 is sheathed around the neck portion 211 of the bottle body 21 so as to facilitate tightly coupling the coupling element 201 with the neck portion 211 of the bottle body 21. As shown in FIG. 3A, the coupling element 201 is fixed onto the bottle body 21 and the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201 is partially received in the bottle body 21 through the mouth portion 212 such that the first opening 2013 is communicated with the inner portion of the bottle body 21. Next, at least one filtering element 202 is inserted into the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201, in which the filtering element 202 is in close contact with the ribs 2015 formed in the first opening 2013 of the coupling element 201. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3B, the first opening 2013 of the coupling element 20 is partially shielded by the filtering element 202, thereby filtering off external contaminants, controlling gas-permeable amount and adjusting relative humidity inside the bottle body 21. Next, according to the requirements of gas-exchangeable amount, relative humidity and pressure within the bottle body 21 at different propagation stages of the plants, the first shielding element 203 or the second shielding element 204 is selectively used. For example, in a case that a relatively higher gas-permeable amount is needed for propagating the plant tissues, the second coupling part 2031 of the first shielding element 203 is tight-fitted into the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201 and the engaging rib 2032 of the second coupling part 2031 is engaged with the engaging groove 2016 in the sidewall of the recess 2012. Meanwhile, the ribs 2035 of the first shielding element 203 are sustained against the filtering element 202 such that the filtering element 202 is clamped within the recess 2012 and between the ribs 2015 and the ribs 2035, as is shown in FIG. 3C. Whereas, in another case that a relatively lower gas-permeable amount is needed in the sterilization stage, the first shielding element 203 is detached from the coupling element 201 and then the second coupling part 2041 of the second shielding element 204 is tight-fitted into the recess 2012 of the coupling element 201, as is shown in FIG. 3D. The means of connecting the second shielding element 204 with the coupling element 201 is similar to that of connecting the first shielding element 203 with the coupling element 201, and will not be redundantly described herein. Due to a relatively smaller-sized second opening 2044 of the second shielding element 204, the second shielding element 204 may be used in the sterilization stage for adjusting the gas-exchangeable amount of the culture container assembly 2.

The size, the shape and the number of the second opening 2034 of the first shielding element 203 or the second opening 2044 of the second shielding element 204 may be modified according to the requirements of gas-exchangeable amount, relative humidity and pressure within the bottle body 21 at different propagation stages of the plants.

From the above description, the complex cap of the present invention is fabricated by assembling a coupling element, at least one shielding element and at least one filtering element. By selecting proper shielding elements in different propagation stages of the plants, the gas permeability and the relative humidity within the bottle body are adjustable so as to increase the acclimatization survival rate, reduce the acclimatization period, and enhance the quality and the survival rate of plantlet. Since the shielding elements with different sizes of second openings are used to comply with different propagation stages, proper gas-exchangeable amount and relative humidity are achieved. In addition, the filtering element is effective for filtering off external contaminants, controlling gas-permeable amount and adjusting relative humidity inside the bottle body.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. 

1. A complex cap for use with a bottle body having a mouth portion and a neck portion, said complex cap comprising: a coupling element having a first coupling part to be coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body, a recess formed in said first coupling part, and a first opening is formed in a bottom of said recess, wherein said first opening is communicated with said mouth portion of said bottle body when said first coupling part is coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body; a shielding element for at least partially sheltering said first opening of said coupling element and comprising a second coupling part to be tight-fitted into said recess of said coupling element; and at least one filtering element mounted in said recess of said coupling element and arranged between said coupling element and said shielding element for filtering off external contaminants and controlling gas-permeable amount.
 2. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said coupling element further comprises a first extension part, which is extended from a bottom of said first coupling part for facilitating said first coupling part to be tightly coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body.
 3. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said shielding element further comprises a second extension part, which is externally extended from a top edge of said second coupling part.
 4. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein an engaging groove is formed in a sidewall of said recess, an engaging rib is formed on an outer periphery of said second coupling part of said first shielding element, and said engaging rib is engaged with said engaging groove when said second coupling part is inserted into said recess of said coupling element.
 5. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said first coupling part has several ribs, which are formed in said first opening and radially arranged with respect to a centerline of said first opening.
 6. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said second coupling part of said first shielding element further has at least one second opening communicated with said first opening of said coupling element.
 7. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said coupling element is made of elastomeric material, and said shielding element is made of transparent or opaque hard material.
 8. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said filtering element is made of non-woven fabric, paper, membrane, tiny gauze or a combination thereof.
 9. The complex cap according to claim 1 wherein said bottle body is a bottle body of a culture bottle for accommodating plant cultures, microorganisms, fungus or plant tissues therein.
 10. A culture container assembly comprising: a bottle body having a mouth portion and a neck portion; and a complex cap comprising: a coupling element having a first coupling part to be coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body, a recess formed in said first coupling part, and a first opening is formed in a bottom of said recess, wherein said first opening is communicated with said mouth portion of said bottle body when said first coupling part is coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body; a shielding element for at least partially sheltering said first opening of said coupling element and comprising a second coupling part to be tight-fitted into said recess of said coupling element; and at least one filtering element mounted in said recess of said coupling element and arranged between said coupling element and said shielding element for filtering off external contaminants and controlling gas-permeable amount.
 11. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said coupling element further comprises a first extension part, which is extended from a bottom of said first coupling part for facilitating said first coupling part to be tightly coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body.
 12. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said shielding element further comprises a second extension part, which is externally extended from a top edge of said second coupling part.
 13. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein an engaging groove is formed in a sidewall of said recess, an engaging rib is formed on an outer periphery of said second coupling part of said first shielding element, and said engaging rib is engaged with said engaging groove when said second coupling part is inserted into said recess of said coupling element.
 14. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said first coupling part has several ribs, which are formed in said first opening and radially arranged with respect to a centerline of said first opening.
 15. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said second coupling part of said first shielding element further has at least one second opening communicated with said first opening of said coupling element.
 16. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said coupling element is made of elastomeric material, and said shielding element is made of transparent or opaque hard material.
 17. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said filtering element is made of non-woven fabric, paper, membrane, tiny gauze or a combination thereof.
 18. The culture container assembly according to claim 10 wherein said bottle body is a bottle body of a culture bottle for accommodating plant cultures, microorganisms, fungus or plant tissues therein.
 19. A culture container assembly comprising: a bottle body having a mouth portion and a neck portion; and a complex cap comprising: a coupling element having a first coupling part to be coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body, a recess formed in said first coupling part, and a first opening is formed in a bottom of said recess, wherein said first opening is communicated with said mouth portion of said bottle body when said first coupling part is coupled with said neck portion of said bottle body; a plurality of shielding elements for at least partially sheltering said first opening of said coupling element, each of said shielding elements comprising a second coupling part to be tight-fitted into said recess of said coupling element, wherein said shielding elements comprises at least first and second shielding elements having different sizes of second openings, and one of said first and second shielding elements are replaceable with the other one; and at least one filtering element mounted in said recess of said coupling element and arranged between said coupling element and said shielding element for filtering off external contaminants and controlling gas-permeable amount.
 20. The culture container assembly according to claim 19 wherein said second opening of said first shielding element has a relatively larger size than said second opening of said second shielding element. 